Pottstown police changing tactics to solve recent robberies

POTTSTOWN — After six robberies in 20 days, the Pottstown Police Department is working “feverishly” to solve the crimes and work to prevent more, Police Chief Richard Drumheller said.

“I can tell you that we are working on it. I would say feverishly,” Drumheller said Monday. “Obviously we have someone out there right now that is robbing our community and that is extremely unnerving for the residents and we understand that. We are doing a rash of things to try and solve the problem.”

Drumheller did not disclose exact details related to the investigations.

“I can tell you it is a lot of directed patrols at certain areas, at certain time frames. We’ve done a lot of homework on that and we have plotted out some things and we are trying to use the data available to us to our advantage to try and capture (the suspects),” Drumheller said.

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The following are the six robberies reported in the Pottstown area:

• On Aug. 30 and Sept. 17, the National Penn Bank at 377 E. High St. was robbed by Christopher Lee Blount, who was caught by police shortly after the robbery on Sept. 17 and charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and other related charges.

• On Sept. 12, a man robbed the 7-Eleven convenience store at 1057 W. High St. in Stowe after 9:30 p.m. West Pottsgrove Police said the suspect was armed during the robbery.

• On Sept. 13 around 4:30 a.m., the McDonald’s at 1428 E. High St. was robbed by the same man who allegedly attempted to rob a female employee who was leaving the Brickhouse around 12:20 a.m. A McDonald’s employee was injured during the robbery.

• On Sept. 17, the Gulf Gas Station at 615 E. High St. was robbed around 10 p.m. Police did not disclose if any money was taken from the establishment.

During the department’s investigations of the current robberies, Drumheller said the changes police are making may not be seen by a majority of residents because those changes are happening at night.

“Our time frame is at night, while most people are sleeping,” Drumheller said. “But I can tell you this — if you are out at two or three in the morning walking around the borough, don’t be surprised if a police officer stops you and asks what you are doing. We are trying to figure out who is out there.”

Along with the change in patrols, Drumheller said the department is investigating the possibility that these robberies may have been committed by non-residents.

“We believe that there is a chance that we have people coming in to Pottstown to commit crimes who do not necessarily live here because we have businesses that are open all day and all night” Drumheller said.

While the recent string of robberies may look like crime is rising in the Pottstown area, Drumheller said the Uniform Crime Report does not reflect that.

“But, UCR does not make your feel warm in bed at night,” Drumheller said.

However, Drumheller and Capt. Robert Thomas said that the commercial robberies do not equate to a rise in possible home invasion burglaries.

“The robberies, do not equate to burglaries,” Thomas said. “If you look at the target of a robbery, it is cash. That doesn’t equate to burglary. Burglary is about getting in and taking stuff, which you can turn into cash. The goal as the person committing one crime is not the same goal as the person committing another.”

Thomas said that a person who has an immediate need for a large amount of money, is more likely commit crimes like the robberies at the National Penn Bank.

“The guy who goes into a house because he wants to take a VCR and run it somewhere and get five dollars for it is not the same guy,” Thomas said.

Drumheller and Thomas emphasized that preventable crimes of opportunity — like items being stolen from unlocked cars — often bog down the system.

“There are a lot of man-hours being spent on thefts from vehicles,” Thomas said. “There was one instance over the summer where a car was forcibly entered by breaking a window. Everybody else was pulling car door handles and they were open.”

Thomas said that the community could help the department by simply locking car doors.

Along with the actions of the police, Drumheller stressed that the public should call police whenever they see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.

“The best thing I can tell the people of Pottstown is that we take everything as serious as we possibly can,” Drumheller said. “We would love to live in a crime-free society but we are trying our best to get there.”

About the Author

Caroline Sweeney formerly worked as the police reporter for the Pottstown Mercury. She is no longer on staff. If you wish to contact anyone at The Mercury about her stories, please call our main number at 610-323-3000 and ask for the editorial department. Reach the author at csweeney@pottsmerc.com
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